Prior to the release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, director Matt Shakman revealed that John Malkovich's villainous Red Ghost would no longer appear, and when audiences saw the movie for themselves, it became clear that this was far from the only scene that didn't make the cut.
There are a number of shots from the various trailers and TV spots that didn't appear in the finished film, including more of the team in space, Johnny Storm falling back to Earth after confronting the Silver Surfer, and what looked like a pretty intense conversation between Reed Richards and Sue Storm.
This is not exactly unusual, of course, but even though First Steps has been mostly very well-received, one consistent criticism from fans and critics has been that the last act feels a little rushed, with pacing issues resulting from the movie being trimmed in order to keep its runtime under 2 hours.
When asked about the possibility of a director's cut of First Steps being released someday during an interview with Elite Daily, Matt Shakman shut the notion down.
“No unfortunately not there’s so much VFX involved... not possible”
Marvel Studios don't typically put out proper director's cuts, anyway, although there have been some extended editions, and at least a few deleted scenes are usually included on the DVD/Blu-ray releases. Shakman's comments don't bode well for the latter, although scenes with unfinished VFX have been released in the past.
PollMaker
First Steps stars Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us, The Mandalorian) as Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby (Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning) as Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things, A Quiet Place Day One) as Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch, Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Punisher, The Bear) as Ben Grimm, aka the Thing, and Julia Garner (Wolf Man, Ozark) as the Silver Surfer.
Ralph Ineson plays Galactus, and Natasha Lyonne and Paul Walter Hauser are also on board in undisclosed roles. John Malkovich's Red Ghost has been cut from the movie.
"Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they face their most daunting challenge yet.
Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal."
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is now in theaters.